The China Syndrome
By Kit Macdonald
This 1979 film by James Bridges is a tense and intelligent thriller that explores (and exposes) the dangers of nuclear power, and the pressures that can turn a technical problem into a catastrophe. Incredibly, it was released just 12 days before the Three Mile Island nuclear accident – still the US's worst commercial nuclear incident – catapulting an already excellent movie to a place of exquisite national resonance.
Jane Fonda plays TV reporter Kimberly Wells, who witnesses what appears to be a serious incident at a California nuclear plant while filming a routine segment. Alongside cameraman Richard Adams (Michael Douglas), she tries to investigate, while plant engineer Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon) becomes increasingly convinced that the facility has dangerous safety flaws. The film’s conspiracy-thriller basis is grounded in a broader denunciation of corporate secrecy, profit-driven decision-making and the suppression of inconvenient information.